On Shaky Ground
The Earthquake The earth trembled And rocked with the rolling surge Of a colicky ocean wave And glass bottles vibrated Like echoing bells And books leaped from The library’s rattling shelves. I awoke And registered the earthquake On my personal Richter scale And...
Puzzling Days
Memorial Day was memorable. We don’t celebrate much on holidays, but this year it brought on more melancholia than I’d expected. We don’t have family nearby, and friends are usually busy with their families, so my husband and I spend quiet holidays together. This...
Purple Prompts Hope
Every May, I look for the jacaranda trees to bloom. In Southern California, they appear as the weather turns warmer. In years when the weather is unseasonably cool, I have to wait for the purples, which spread across the Southland like wildfires. Homeowners gripe...
Corona Chronicles
Random thoughts (because it’s hard to focus these days): On Easter we watched Andrea Bocelli sing “Amazing Grace” on TV.“You know he’s blind,” I said to my husband.“He’s just looking down at the words,” he replied.“No, he’s blind. He usually wears sunglasses,” I told...
Marooned Blues
Most days my husband and I are OK stuck at home together, 24/7. We started isolating ourselves on March 17, just two days before California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued stay-at-home orders. Don and I get along, although we approach things differently. I’m a worrier; he...